At All Times
by Zephor
Summary: Miroku Houshi is the playboy of his highschol. That is, until he's sent to a monastery to learn how to be a proper monk. There he meets the spirit of a girl who died over 500 years ago. As he learns more about her, he finds secrets never imagined. MS IK
1. Leaving Home and the First Encounter

Disclaimer: Don't own nothing. Phooey.  
  
Chapter 1 Leaving Home and the First Encounter  
  
"So, you're really moving away?" A pretty young girl asked the boy sitting next to her. They were sitting on the school steps, waiting for their ride, with their spirits down about the news.  
  
"Yeah. Tomorrow." He said sadly, looking at the ground. He couldn't believe this was happening to him.  
  
Miroku Houshi, the playboy of Shikon High School, was completely blown away when his uncle told him two days ago he would be moving to an old monastery that was the inhabited (or infected) with monks-in-training. Apparently, his uncle didn't think the environment he was living in now was good enough for a monk-to-be. That's exactly what he told his best friend forever, Kagome Hirgurshi.  
  
"Actually," Kagome said giggling when he told him that, "I can see why he would want you to move away from school. There's too many girls here!"  
  
"Okay, so they prove to be a little distracting." He said as he eyed two seniors in very, VERY short skirts. "But where I'm going, there won't be a woman for miles! I'll be living in an isolated area with a bunch of men! " He shivered at the thought. "How could he do that to me?!"  
  
"Oh, poor baby." Kagome teased. She wanted to lighten Miroku's mood a little, even though inside she was just as a sad as him. They had been best friends since forever, and Kagome couldn't think of what she would do without him.  
  
They were interrupted when a annoying little girl in a way to short of a skirt and a tight fitting shirt ran up to Miroku and threw her arms around him.  
  
"Wahhh!" She cried, putting her head into his shoulder. "I just heard you were moving away!" She screeched in his ear.  
  
"Koharu, it's okay." He said, patting her back, moving his hand closer and closer to her backside. He raised his eyebrows as his eyes reached Kagome's, who just shrugged her shoulders. They were both thinking the same thing. 'How the heck did she find out so fast?'  
  
"You mean, you're not really moving?" She asked slowly, lifting her head.  
  
"Well, no, I am. But I mean, we can still date and stuff." He told his on again, off again girlfriend. They've been dating since the beginning of High School, and Miroku didn't want to go off to a monk sanctuary without a girlfriend.  
  
"Really?" Koharu sniffed up the tears, a with a lost puppy dog look on her face. "Okay!"She said brightly, pecking him on the lips before running off to tell her friends she was still dating the one of the most popular boys in school. Kagome faked a gag, while Miroku watched her skip down the sidewalk in her short skirt.  
  
"She is so superficial!" Kagome told Miroku, after Koharu was well out of hearing distance. "I don't know how you can stand being with her."  
  
"Oh, I have my reasons." Miroku said with a perverted grin plastered on his face. Kagome playfully hit him on the head, though harder than usual with her books. She knew he was all talk, and that he had never actually been with a girl like that before. But unfortunately, having a boy as a best friend, this was a usual occurrence.  
  
"There's your mom." Miroku said, snapping Kagome out of her thoughts while throwing his book bag over his shoulder. She grabbed her books, and quickly followed him.  
  
Miroku lived right across the street from Kagome's shrine, and so on some days Kagome's mom would pick them up and drive them home so they wouldn't have to ride their bikes down the busy streets. He's lived there ever since his parents died in a car crash when he was little, and he had to move in with his old uncle. Since both of his uncle and his father where monks, that didn't really leave Miroku much of a choice on what he wanted to do with his life.  
  
Don't get him wrong, though. He liked being a monk. Sometimes. It's just he wasn't sure that was what he really wanted to do.  
  
And with this new move in his life, he really didn't think he wanted to be a monk. How could his very own flesh and blood do that to him? It wasn't just the girls he was going to miss. He had his friends, his life, his hair. And of course, there was Kagome, his best friend.  
  
They've known each other since he had moved across the street from her, and that was probably why he didn't see her as a girl he would date. She's always been more like a younger sister than anything else, considering he was a whole year older than her, and he was the protective older brother. He didn't especially like the looks Kagome got from guys when they went to school, and he really didn't like that one guy. Hobo, was it? Hoto? It was something like that. He couldn't remember.  
  
The car ride home was mostly quiet, with just polite greetings and charming remarks as Miroku complemented Mrs. Hirgurshi the whole way home. Kagome was used to the way Miroku acted around adults. She referred to him as a snake, as he could charm his way into anything, and anyone.  
  
"When are you leaving tomorrow?" Kagome asked Miroku, as she walked him to his front door when they arrived at there houses.  
  
"Early in the morning. Before you wake up. We have to leave early, if we want to get there before dark."  
  
"Oh." Kagome said, her spirits lowering. She was hoping to get a last good- bye before going to school.  
  
"Don't worry." Miroku told her, giving her a reassuring smile. "I'll come back and visit."  
  
"Will you be there for my birthday?" She said, hopefully. It wasn't that she wanted a present from him or anything, it's just that they had spent every birthday together since he had moved here, and her birthday wouldn't feel the same if he wasn't there.  
  
"I'll try to get out. If I have to, I'll run away from that place just to get here." He winked at her.  
  
Kagome smiled. "Thanks, Miroku." They reached the steps that went to Miroku's house. Neither of them moved, not wanting to leave because they knew it would be a long time before they saw each again. Probably not even for a whole month, since Kagome was turning 15 years old then.  
  
"Well..." Miroku started, staring at the ground.  
  
"Well... Bye." Kagome said, giving him a last hug before running in the opposite direction. She really didn't want him to leave, but she REALLY didn't want him to see her cry. He wouldn't let her live it down.  
  
Miroku sighed, and walked up the steps to his house. His legs felt heavy, as he dreaded tomorrow, when he would be leaving. 'My life can't get any worse.' He thought, as he opened his door to face his drunk uncle yet again, and pack for the long day tomorrow.  
  
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'My life is trash.' Miroku thought miserably, as he trudged trough the thick mud, shivering as more rain seeped through his heavy robes that seemed to be permanently stuck to his body. He didn't know that there was no roads to this sacred monastery, and they're had to walk about half the way there after the roads ended. He followed behind a whole group of monks, who came to greet him at the road. They didn't actually talk to him, though. Really, they just bowed their heads to him and turned to walk away. Only the one they called 'Father Rei' actually talked to him, and he thought it was only because he had to.  
  
So now, Miroku was walking the ten miles left to the monastery on foot, in the rain, uphill, and it was already turning dark. He was going to have some real fun here.  
  
"Okay, let's stop for camp." Father Rei said to the monks. They took of the heavy looking sacks they were carrying off, and some tent poles.  
  
Miroku groaned out loud. 'Great. Just great.'  
  
Another, younger looking monk came over to him. "We can share a tent." He said, giving him a friendly smile. Miroku was going to smile back, but his mouth wouldn't stretch that far. He was happy to see this monk seemed to have all his hair.  
  
"My name's Yokata."  
  
"I'm Miroku."  
  
"Yeah, I know. We've been waiting for your arrival for a while. There hasn't been any new people since I got here 6 months ago."  
  
Miroku nodded, too tired to make conversation. So he just stayed quiet and helped set up the tent, while Yokata did all the talking. He told him about all the monk teachers and what rules they each had. He seemed pretty cool, and Miroku was glad he had at least one friend here.  
  
"So your not use to this walking around stuff, huh?" Yokata said, snapping Miroku out of his trance.  
  
"What? Oh, no, I don't really walk around much."  
  
Yokata shook his head. "Well, that's going to change. All we ever do is walk places. I think they don't have anything for us to do, so they tell us to walk to the next building for a pointless task just to waste time."  
  
Miroku groaned out loud. Great. That was just what he needed.  
  
After many fumbling attempts (mostly on Miroku's part) they finally got a safe, semi-sturdy tent up.  
  
By then, Miroku couldn't move at all. He had never been more tired than that moment. As soon as the tent was built, he went inside, and fell on the sleeping bag. Yokata was still talking.  
  
"So we have about 5 more miles to go, and Rei said we were going to start early in the morning. Good-night!"  
  
'How can he be so cheerful?' Miroku wondered, to tired to actually do anything about him. The next instant, he couldn't do anything at all. He closed his eyes, and fell into the most peaceful sleep he had ever had.  
  
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It was deathly quiet now, since the rain had stopped, and it was still dark outside.  
  
Miroku shot up suddenly. He wasn't having a nightmare or anything; in fact, he didn't even know why he awoke from his sleep. It was so peaceful, and he was so out of it.  
  
So why did he wake up?  
  
Miroku shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. Something must've made a noise outside that had woken him up. He had always been a light sleeper and usually, under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have fallen asleep so quickly and easily.  
  
He got up, seeing that Yokata was still snoring, and decided he would go check outside on his own.  
  
When he got outside, he thought that maybe he had imagined the whole thing. There was no sound at all outside, and as far as he could tell, nothing was out there there could have made a sound.  
  
But he felt......... something that he couldn't describe. Like a kind of tingle in his mind that told him something, or someone was out there. And he had to know what it was.  
  
He walked out of the clearing, and into the dark woods, following the strange feeling he had. It was like leading him to something, something he had to find.  
  
He walked for what seemed like forever, until he found in another small clearing. His breath caught in his throat when he saw what was in front of him.  
  
A shimmering mist, in the shape of a girl, stood over a small patch of wild flowers. Her skinny body was hunched over them, and seemed to be picking them up. She was projecting some kind of glowing light, and Miroku found he couldn't turn away.  
  
She was beautiful.  
  
His throat made a small noise, as he was trying to find his voice, and the glistening girl turned around. A look of panic held her face.  
  
But all Miroku could see was her. Her eyes large and bright on her small face. He was completely enchanted by her beauty.  
  
The girl drew back for a second, and then turned around and ran in the opposite direction. Miroku snapped out of it, and found his voice.  
  
"Wait!" He screamed, as he chased after her. He ran faster than ever, as he tried to keep up with the shimmering goddess.  
  
"I just want to talk to you!" It was no use. Miroku didn't have a chance of catching her. She was faster than anything he had ever seen before.  
  
After running for as long as he could, he stopped to catch his breath. When he looked up, she was already out of sight. It was like she was never there.  
  
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"So," Miroku started out the next morning as they rolled up the tent. "Have you ever seen a spirit?" He decided to just come out and ask Yokata.  
  
He had gotten back to his tent late that night, and fell into an uneasy sleep, not sure what to think about the ghost-spirit thing he had saw. He awoke this morning wondering if he had dreamed the entire thing, and it didn't actually happen. He still wasn't sure.  
  
"Me? Well, not yet. You have to be very in tune with the earth and stuff, I think. Father Rei had seen a couple spirits before, though." He looked thoughtful for a second. "Yeah, in fact I think there's a spirit right now visiting the monastery. Father Rei said he was picking up light trances of a spirit, but he hasn't actually seen it yet."  
  
He continued telling of all the spirits that had been seen at the monastery, but Miroku wasn't listening.  
  
He broke off of Yokata in mid-sentence, and ran to Father Rei, who had just finished packing up his tent. He gave Miroku a small smile.  
  
"Well hello, Miroku. I hope you sleep well last night."  
  
"Uh, yeah. It was fine." Miroku wasn't sure how to approach this guy. He gave off such a creepy vibe. "I was just wondering if you or anyone else.......... uh.........sensed anything last night?"  
  
Father Rei looked at Miroku like a parent looking at a child who had just said stated the obvious. Like he was inferior to him. "No, my child, I did not feel anything." His eyes narrowed at Miroku, untrusting. "Did you feel something?"  
  
"What, me?" Miroku said, trying to look innocent. "Oh, no, I just wanted to know because.........uh, I heard that these woods were haunted, and I wanted to know if it was true."  
  
Father Rei's faced went back to the same, uneasy calm look he had before. He bought it. "You can't always believe what you hear, my child."  
  
Miroku ws tired of this guy treating him like a stupid child. "Uh, yeah, I guess not. Well, bye." With that, he ran back to Yokata, who was staring at him with wide eyes.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me you felt something?" He asked urgently.  
  
"What! How did you know?"  
  
Yokata smiled. "News travels around hear fast. So what happened?"  
  
Miroku shook his head, smiling to himself. 'These guys move faster than the girls at Shikon High!' Out loud, he told Yokata of how he encountered the spirit the night before.  
  
When he finished, Yokata held an expression of awe and excitement. "Wow."  
  
"Yeah, but you have to promise not to tell anyone. I don't want them to know. Promise?" Miroku asked, hoping he could trust this guy.  
  
Yokata smiled. "Sounds like you want this chick all to yourself."  
  
Miroku was taken back. "What?! No, it's not like that. You see.........." He fumbled over his words.  
  
Yokata laughed, slapping Miroku hard on the back. "I'm just joking with you. You have my word."  
  
Miroku breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. I don't want to stay here any longer than I have to, and if they find out I can sense spirits, I might never leave!"  
  
Yokata laughed again, throwing the heavey looking tent over his shoulder. "You're a weird one. Come on, let's go."  
  
Miroku followed him, as he took one last look around him. 'We'll meet again.' He thought, smiling to himself. 'I know it.'  
  
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Whew! My third fic has begun! I'm really excited about this one. It's going to be fun to write, since I can make some of the people use modern lingo in past time. That was what was killing my first fic, because I wanted Sonnet to say stuff that couldn't be said in that time. Well, I'll get started on the next chapter soon!  
  
****Don't forget to review!!!!!!!****  
  
Next chapter:  
  
Miroku hears a story about the monastery's past, and meets the spirit once again 


	2. A Spirit Named Sango

Disclaimer: Don't own squat. Stop asking!  
  
Chapter 2 A Spirit Named Sango  
  
"And after the village survived the harsh winter, they then had to re-build what was left of it after the demon attacks..." Father Sento drowned on, as Miroku stiffed another yawn.  
  
He had only been here for a week, and already he hated this place with a passion. There was absolutely nothing fun to do, and all he's done so far was listen to boring stories of villages that were probably made up. That, and sit in a dark room and pray. It had been a L-O-N-G week.  
  
Now he was in his history class, learning about the history of the monastery. Like he was ever going to use that in real life. He took a look around the room. Most everyone looked the same way he did, bored out of their mind.  
  
"Miroku!" The monk said sharply, slapping a ruler on the wall that Miroku was leaning against. "Is this story boring you?"  
  
Miroku sat up straight, clearing his face of all sleep. "No. Of course not."  
  
Father Sento looked at him hard. And then smiled. "Well, I was getting a little tired of this myself. Let's read something more interesting."  
  
Miroku blinked. He didn't get yelled at? Wow, was this guy pretty cool.  
  
"I know these stories don't hold the attention of you young men these days. All you want to hear about are car crashes and killings." The old monk said.  
  
'Don't forget bikini clad women.' Miroku thought with a grin.  
  
Sento grabbed another scroll from the self. "You'll enjoy this one. It has quite a massacre that evolves humans and demons."  
  
"Yes!" All the other younger monks-in-training in the room shouted, glad for a change of pace. Everyone seemed to be awake now.  
  
He began reading:  
  
"500 years ago, back in the feudal ages of Japan, there lived a secret town of demon exterminators that lived off of the killing and selling of demon parts. They were very well off, and over the years they prospered as they created new weapons that no demon could defeat."  
  
"The very best demon exterminators were sent all over the land to help with the problems other villages had. They were very giving, and always helped out whenever they were needed."  
  
"One faithful day, they were sent to an old lord's house to exterminate a deadly demon that had been causing destruction throughout the entire village. This was an especially dangerous demon, so they asked for the very best exterminators to come."  
  
"Their best demon exterminators left that day, and traveled to the lord's house about a day's travel away. Nothing seemed to be out of place when they got there, and exterminated the gigantic spider demon without much trouble."  
  
"The exterminator's grew suspicious of how easily they defeated this demon, since the lord had so urgently requested their services. But they paid well, so it was never mentioned."  
  
"Tragedy struck. The lord that the exterminator's were hired by was a demon himself, able to control minds with the help of his own spiders. He enjoyed seeing people suffer, and these exterminators were his next victims. With one of his mind control spiders, he took control of the least experienced exterminator."  
  
"He forced the young boy to kill every single one his comrades, including his own family. The exterminators never expected it, and before they could react he had killed all of them."  
  
"The village itself could no longer protect itself without there best exterminators, and was ultimately destroyed by one of the many demon enemies it had made over the years. There were no survivors of the village. The ways of the demon exterminators were lost, along with the poor souls of their village."  
  
He stopped reading, and looked around the room. Most everyone had stopped listening half way through.  
  
But Miroku, on the other hand, had gotten the true meaning of the story. "So, everyone in the village died?" He asked, astonished.  
  
Father Sento nodded. He put the scroll back on the self.  
  
Most of the boys had never lost anyone they cared, so he knew they wouldn't really understand the pain of death. He did. But still, Miroku couldn't imagine having pretty much everyone he ever knew dead.  
  
"What does this story have to do with the history of the monastery?" A boy from the back asked.  
  
"Well," Sento started. "The lord's house where the exterminators were sent to was this monastery. They where murdered here, and are buried here."  
  
This got the attention of the boys.  
  
"You mean, there were real demon exterminators that fought here?" Another boy asked.  
  
"Yeah. That's what I just said." Sento answered, rolling his eyes.  
  
A bell from the distance rang, signaling the end of class. The boys packed up their books and began to leave.  
  
"Read chapter five for homework tonight." Sento said to the rushing class, getting his own things together. "Oh, and Miroku, I'd like you to stay after to discuss your punishment."  
  
"What!?" Miroku said. He could hear the snickers of his friends in the background. "What'd I do?"  
  
"You weren't paying attention. Good-bye boys." He said to the guys who were standing around, waiting to hear what Miroku's punishment. They turned around and left quickly.  
  
'Great.' Miroku thought, getting his things ready. 'Another exciting day at the old monastery.'  
  
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"So," Yokata said. "What did the old man give you?"  
  
Miroku had just sat down on the lawn with his lunch and already everyone wanted to know what he was sentenced to. This must be a slow week.  
  
"I just have kitchen duty in the morning all week." He said, taking a bite of his rice. "Nothing major."  
  
It was lunchtime, the only time of the day where Miroku could actually enjoy himself. And even that wasn't that great. There were no group of buddies to talk to, no females to flirt with, and the food wasn't that much better than what they severed at the cafeteria. Plus, the group of guys at this place hadn't exactly accepted him yet. Apparently, you have to do something, sorta like a dare, to be considered one of the guys.  
  
A group of boys sat down next to him and Yokata. "Good job getting the monk to actually read something that didn't put me to sleep this time." The leader Kenji said.  
  
"No problem." He replied coolly, glad they were talking to him. As far as he could see, this monastery was just like a high school, minus the girls. There were very distinctive groups, including the nerds, the troublemakers, and of course, the popular people. Kenji was obviously the leader of this group, and since Miroku was the most popular guy back at his old school, there was no reason he shouldn't be one here. He knew he only had one chance to make it with them, and it was about to come up.  
  
"Hey, you guys know about the ghost old man Rei has been trying to get rid of." Kenji said, staring at the guys.  
  
"Yeah. He says it's a real evil one." Yokata said, looking at Miroku. So far, he hadn't told anyone about his little encounter with a spirit, and hopefully he would keep it that way.  
  
"They say he was able to seal it in the graveyard. But it must be a strong one, because he hasn't been able to vanquish it yet." Another boy Miroku did not know the name of said.  
  
"You know what would be cool," Kenji said, looking around the group. "is if one of us stayed out all night in the graveyard and tried to capture this 'evil spirit.'"  
  
"That'd be awesome!" A different boy yelled.  
  
"The question is who's going to do it." Kenji looked at Miroku.  
  
"Me?!" He said, looking at the entire group. "Why do I have to do it? I'm already in enough trouble with these monks, and I don't need another strike against me."  
  
"Well, we'll understand if you're too scared to do it." Kenji said, shrugging his shoulders. "I mean you're from the city right? And we all know that city people can't really do anything. They're cowards, of course."  
  
Miroku understood what he's saying. If he didn't go on this dare, he wouldn't be part of his group. Years of high school had prepared him for his answer.  
  
"I'm no coward. I'd be happy to go ghost catching tonight."  
  
"Good deal." Kenji said, smiling. "Here are the terms. You have to stay there ALL night. No going back to your room at midnight or anything. Yokata, don't you have early morning cleanup?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Good. You'll be checking on him tomorrow morning." Kenji grabbed his tray and stood up. The rest of his group did the same.  
  
"We're expecting you to come through on this, Mirinku. Don't let us down."  
  
As soon as he and his group left, Yokata burst out laughing. "He doesn't even know you're name!"  
  
Miroku shrugged, trying to brush it off. "I'm sure he was just joking."  
  
Yokata rolled his eyes. 'Yeah, right.'  
  
They grabbed their books and started walking to their next class.  
  
"Miroku, you don't have to go through with this whole graveyard thing, you know. I'll just tell Kenji you didn't chicken out when he asks me tomorrow." Yokata, being the good friend he is, said.  
  
Miroku shook his head. "That's okay. I'll just go through this dare and get it over with. It won't be a problem."  
  
He didn't want to admit it out loud, but he wanted to go to the graveyard, although it did have its risks. The ghost may be the one he encountered that time in the woods, and he wanted to see it again.  
  
He and Yokata walked into their prayer class, his mind on other things as it went on.  
  
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'Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.' Miroku thought, as he opened the gate.  
  
The moon shone brightly on the dust-covered graves, giving the only light in the graveyard. It was a chilly night, and he was glad to have his monk robes to keep him warm through the night.  
  
It was completely creepy out here. The only sound that could be heard was the quiet talking of the crickets, and the gentle whispers of the wind. The moon played a shadow effect on the graves as he took a seat on one of them in the middle of the yard.  
  
He didn't think this was a good idea anymore. It was just way to scary to be out in a freakin GRAVEYARD, for Buddha's sake. Ghost or no ghost, he was beginning to think this could wait till morning.  
  
'No!' He thought. 'You can't leave now!' He tried to think of other things.  
  
'What should I get Kagome for her birthday? It's coming up soon, isn't it? I probably won't be able to get out of here by then, considering they only let the good kids visit their friends, and he far from a model student. Maybe if he pulled a few strings...'  
  
'What was that?!' His heart stopped as he whipped his head in the direction of the noise. A pile of leaves fluttered in the wind. 'Breath, man, breath! Don't let this get to you! You can do this. Come on, settle down!'  
  
And that's pretty much how it was most of the night, with Miroku jumping up at every little sound that he heard. As the night went on, and he continued to fight the drowsiness that threatened to take him, he wasn't sure if he could take much more of this. He was bored and scared out of his mind, which wasn't a good combination.  
  
Another noise drifted to his ears. At first, he couldn't tell if it was wind or just his imagination, but when it continued to go on, he had no idea what it was. It was like a low, moaning noise, so soft it was barley audible.  
  
He began walking toward the sound, going as quiet as possible. His feet were silent against the leaves and sticks scattered all around him as the sound got louder and louder. He looked from behind a large statue to see what was making the noise.  
  
His breath caught in his throat. It was the spirit girl again. Her silver hair shimmered in the light of the moon, as her body seemed to dance while it lay still. She was beautiful..  
  
She was sitting next to a small gravestone covered in flowers, and his ears caught the sound of her soft humming. It was soundly he couldn't make out the tune, yet it sounded lovely.  
  
He closed his eyes and sat there for a moment, just enjoying the music. He didn't realize when it stopped, or when the spirit moved.  
  
It was standing right in front of him.  
  
He did realize she had moved when he felt an icy cold feeling place against his throat.  
  
His eyes shot opened as he came face to face with black, narrowed eyes. The hand that was wrapped around his throat pulled him to his feet and slammed his head against the hard statue.  
  
"What do you want?" The ghost asked in a hard voice.  
  
Miroku wasn't exactly in the position to talk, as he struggled to breath. "S-s-so.c-cold." He managed to get out.  
  
The ghost blinked, as in realizing what she was doing to him, before letting him go.  
  
He fell to the ground, gasping for air. His throat felt like ice. He waited a few moments before meeting the eyes of the ghost again.  
  
Her eyes were still narrowed as she looked down on him. She grabbed him by his shoulder robe and pulled him up against the cold marble.  
  
"Why are you following me?" She asked, the pressure on his shoulder increasing. Her eyes never left his face.  
  
Okay, Miroku would be lying if he said he wasn't scared right now. In fact, he was very close to doing something in his robes he wasn't going to be proud of. He had never had a ghost a talk to him before, and he certainly never had one almost beat him up. He wondered if it counted being beat up by a girl if she was a ghost.  
  
"I-I don't want to hurt you." He smacked himself inwardly for saying that. He wasn't exactly in the position to hurt anyone right now!  
  
"I mean, I won't hurt you!" He knew he sounded utterly pathetic right now, but it didn't matter as long as she let go of him!  
  
He felt her grip loosen a bit, and her face didn't hold as much anger as it did before. She seemed to be thinking over what he had said. He continued.  
  
"What I mean is, I'm sorry that I was following you. It's just that I've never seen a ghost before, and...I dunno, I just wanted to talk?" He really didn't know why he followed her that day, or why he was hoping for her to show up tonight. It was just a feeling he had.  
  
He breathed a sigh of relief as she let go of him. He rubbed his sore shoulder, waiting for her to speak.  
  
"Just leave me alone." Was all she said, before turning back to the gravestone she was tending to before.  
  
Miroku never did listen when girls told him to bug off, so why should this girl be any different? Oh yeah, she was dead.  
  
He walked up behind her.  
  
"Are you still here?" The ghost asked him, her voice hard. Miroku brushed it off.  
  
"Was that someone you knew?" He asked her, referring to the grave.  
  
She whipped her head toward him, her face full of anger. "That's none of your business!" She turned around and started walking toward the woods.  
  
Of course, Miroku followed.  
  
"Can't you find some other spirit to bother?" She said angrily, not bothering to turn around.  
  
"Nope, you're the only one around." He said, flashing her a charming smile she would have swooned for if she had been looking at him.  
  
He could hear her muttering something about 'annoying pests' and 'whatever happened to peace after afterlife.' Miroku found it funny.  
  
They reached the end of the graveyard.  
  
"Where are you going?" Miroku asked, hoping she would at least look at him.  
  
She was getting ready to jump over the fence to the woods. "Somewhere where you're not!"  
  
Suddenly a bright light flashed around the graveyard. The spirit was thrown back, and fell against Miroku's chest. He instinctively wrapped his arms around her. And towards a place he probably shouldn't.  
  
"What the-?!" He heard her say.  
  
"Hentai!"  
  
Smack!  
  
"It was an accident! You ran into me!" Miroku said in defense, rubbing his now red cheek. Wow, she hit hard.  
  
"Ow." She said, rubbing her own face, the part that hit the invisible barrier.  
  
"I don't think you can leave." Miroku said, coming up next to her again.  
  
"Gee, really. You think?" She said sarcastically, being wary of his presence. She plopped herself on the ground. "Now what am I going to do?"  
  
Miroku sat down next to her. "Where were you planning to go anyway?"  
  
She put her chin on her arms. "I don't know. Nowhere, I guess. I don't have anyone anymore." He could see tears in her eyes.  
  
"What happened?" He wasn't sure if he should be asking such a personal question so soon, but he really wanted to know how a girl so gorgeous could possibly end up like this. "How did you die?"  
  
She sighed, meeting his eyes this time. "I don't know." She said quietly.  
  
'What?' Miroku thought, confused. 'How did someone know not know how they died. Then again, I've never died before, so how should I know?' He listened as she continued.  
  
"I mean, how could I not know how I died? You'd think it'd be something I would remember, but I just can't!" Small sparkling tears fell down her eyes and left a trail down her cheek. Miroku's heart reached out to her.  
  
"What do you remember?" He asked gently, hoping not to disrupt her any further. He put a comforting shoulder around her, and felt her stiffen.  
  
She turned towards him, as if suddenly realizing what was happening. An angry expression was on her face. "Why should you care?! It's not like any of this matters to you anyway!"  
  
She got up and ran towards the place where she was when Miroku first saw her.  
  
Well, Miroku had never been one to take a hint. 'She never said I couldn't follow her.'  
  
He chased after her, determined not to be shaken off by her slight unfriendliness act. "Wait! I really do care!"  
  
She whipped around at him, making Miroku suddenly stop. "Just leave me alone! I don't want to talk to anyone!"  
  
"Why not? I mean, even the dead get lonely sometimes, right?" Miroku's mind was on full blast, trying to think of anything that would make her stay. He knew he was touching a delicate situation, but it seemed to be working. She hadn't started running away again.  
  
She stared at the ground, not meeting his eyes. "I guess it can. I mean, I am dead, right? So I should know."  
  
Miroku couldn't help but pity the girl. "I take it you don't know why your still here?"  
  
She shook her head. "I have absolutely no idea."  
  
She sighed, and Miroku could almost hear the tears in her voice as she spoke. "I must have done something so bad, so evil that I couldn't even be allowed to be reincarnated. That's the only way I could be here, without any memories of my past life."  
  
Miroku shook his head. "No. That can't be it."  
  
Her eyebrow shot up. "What? How would you know?!" She asked in more of a demanding tone than a questioning one.  
  
"Because," He said, taking her hand. It wasn't nearly as cold as when it was pressed up against his throat. He was lucky he caught her off guard, because she was to surprised to throw him off. "You haven't tried to do anything bad to me yet, even though it seems like you've had plenty of opportunities. And that I might have deserved it."  
  
Even through her glittering appearance, he could still see something of a light blush spread across her beautiful face. He smiled to himself.  
  
"Don't you think someone who was really evil in their past life be a little more aggressive to someone as defenseless as me?"  
  
"I did hit you, though." She said, the blush spreading rapidly.  
  
"Well, I think I deserved it." He said smiling. His smile widened even more when he saw a smile creeping across her delicate features.  
  
"Maybe we should start over. My name's Miroku." He drew out his hand.  
  
She looked confused for a second, like she didn't exactly know what he was doing. But she took his hand, the lovely smile returning to her face.  
  
"And my name's Sango."  
  
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Well, this could quite certainly be considered the strangest day of his life. And it has just begun, considering how the sun was just about rising. He had better get to his room fast and try to catch up on his sleep before he had to go fulfill his earlier punishment.  
  
So far he had met the most amazing, not to mention the first, spirit ever. He had stayed up all night talking to her, mostly about the future and himself more than anything else. She seemed to be fascinated about the wonders he knew of that he didn't get the chance to ask about her past.  
  
'Sango.' His mind thought over and over again, testing it on his tongue. It was a beautiful name. But it suited her, as she was definitely the most beautiful creature he had every laid his eyes on.  
  
Now, if he could only figure a way to meet with her every night without anyone noticing...  
  
"Miroku!" A sharp voice called out.  
  
'Uh, oh.' Miroku thought, knowing instantly who it was. He was in trouble now.  
  
He turned to find one of his teachers, one who he always goofs off in his class, shouting at him and looking fairly angry. "What are you doing out here so early? And coming from the graveyard! You know that place is restricted, unless with a teacher."  
  
"Well uh, you see..." Miroku tried to think of a way to talk his way out of this predicament.  
  
"No! Enough of your excuses. I'm taking you see Father Rei. He'll deal with you." He took his arm and whipped toward the direction of Father Rei's hut.  
  
Miroku sighed. This was quickly turning into another typical day at the monastery.  
  
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END  
  
Oh yeah. I'm done.  
  
Very, VERY long time since I updated. I've been working on my other Sango/Miroku romance, 'A Love Sonnet' And I haven't been paying attention to this one. Sorry! I also won't be updating this fic as fast my other one, mainly because I really really want to finish A Love Sonnet. The only time I actually write for this fic is when I lose inspiration for my other one. So, updates might be a little long.  
  
Question: Do the prayer beads around Miroku's hand holds his wind tunnel, or does the glove hold it? Or both? If anyone knows, I would greatly appreciate it if you told me!  
  
Next Chapter:  
  
Miroku receives his 'punishment' and finds out Kagomes sick! And right after her 15th birthday, too. How strange...  
  
Please, don't forget to review!  
  
~Zephor~ 


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